Summary

President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, prompting strong backlash from Republicans.

GOP lawmakers criticized the move as an abuse of power and an attempt to avoid accountability, with figures like Rep. James Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley calling it hypocritical and corrupt.

Biden defended the pardon, citing “selective prosecution” and claiming Hunter was unfairly targeted due to their family connection.

Hunter faced convictions for federal gun and tax charges.

  • NJSpradlin@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I’m not pleased at the prospect of Republicans doing the same thing in four years, after the corruption of Trump’s second term, and then pointing their fingers at this… but, to anyone with half a brain and at least one eye… Hunter wasn’t in politics, wasn’t directly appointed to his staff or a representative in any fashion within the White House, and the gun and tax crimes are small fries compared to anything the Trump family and stooges are or have been up to.

    • fluxion@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Prospect? Trump handed out pardons like candy to far worse people who happened to aligned with his politics. After 8 years of seeing Trump rat-fuck norms and laws and precedent and unjustly go after his family and get away with everything, while everyone else tries to play by the rules, Biden is probably asking himself why he has to let his son risk prison when he knows everyone in the incoming administration wouldn’t even give a second thought to pardoning.

      I don’t support it, but I get it. This is the kind of shit America voted for, right?

    • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Roger Stone, Steve Banon, Dinesh D’Souza all sorts of other crony based pardons were already done in Trumps last term.

      Your Pearl Clutching the inevitable (as of it will now be Bidens fault) is ridiculous, and out of line.

      • NJSpradlin@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Ooof, you went from my comment being just slightly irritated that he did it when he could have not done it and better served the Democratic Party by keeping his hands out of and showing that the Dems can do and be better, just a small gripe but that I understand anyway… to blasting me for ‘pearl clutching’? Ok, I guess.

          • Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            I want to see more. We put all our hope into this party and they have yet to even throw a punch. Make a mistake so big it forces the political climate to shift, please already.

        • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          The Democrats can be better sure. But no one cares unfortunately. They re elected someone far worse.

          Worse, Republicans were already hypocritically obsessed with Hunter. With them preparing to fascisticaly weaponize the DOJ. He would have been one of the first and worst targeted by them. I don’t blame or hold pardoning him against Joe Biden. It won’t stop the fascists ultimately. But it will make him less of an easy target.

          Democrats spent the last 4 years worrying about optics. And they have nothing to show for it.

    • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Prospect? Where have you been? Did you miss when Trump pardoned Jared Kushner’s father?

      Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner [Jared Kushner’s father] discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation.

      Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said.

      In fact, this man who “pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering” has now been nominated to be Ambassador to France by Trump. There is no “prospect of Republicans doing the same thing in four years.” They’ve been doing it for the last 40+ years already. You just haven’t been paying attention.

      It’s about time the Democrats got of their damn high horse and got down in the mud and started fighting like they mean it.

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Don Jr did cocaine in public at the recent Space X launch and not a peep out of the mainstream media, much less police.

      If a policeman saw a black man outside a night club do what Don Jr did, he would have been arrested on the spot and immediately thrown in jail.

    • mommykink@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      whataboutism

      And those “small fries” were illegally buying a firearm and skirting $1,400,000 in federal taxes.

      And I thought we were the guys who wanted stronger gun control and the rich to pay their taxes?? Does that go out the window when it’s one of “ours”?

      • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Based on how those crimes have been enforced, yes. The federal gun charge that says a drug addict cannot own a gun is rarely enforced historically and is being challenged in the courts by Republicans because the DOJ started using it against white supremacists. Yet Hunter Biden wasn’t even allowed a plea deal because of the politics around him. As for the taxes, when he was caught, he paid them and the fines associated with them. For literally anyone else caught doing the same, that is the end of it. No jail time or further penalties.

        Joe Biden tried to let the courts do their job and trusted that the courts would be fair. They weren’t. This was clearly a political prosecution and I would have done the same in (Joe) Biden’s shoes.

        • mommykink@lemmy.world
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          The federal gun charge that says a drug addict cannot own a gun is rarely enforced historically

          And yet it’s still a felony. I thought we were the ones who support strong gun regulation?

          wasn’t even allowed a plea deal

          No one is entitled to a plea deal. For the severity of Hunter’s crimes, I’m fine with it.

          As for the taxes, when he was caught, he paid them

          Keyphrase: “When he was caught.” He was just fine stealing the $1.4m from Americans otherwise.

          Joe Biden tried to let the courts do their job and trusted that the courts would be fair. They weren’t.

          That’s not how it works and you know this is going to literally be Trump’s argument on Day One when he starts pardoning his supporters, right?

      • Shiggles@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        I’m not saying I agree with the decision, but as Biden, would you really want your son somewhere Trump could immediately fuck with him as soon as he wanted? Had Kamala won this would absolutely be a dumbass decision. With Trump incoming… I get it.

        • mommykink@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Who cares about what happens to Hunter “10% for The Big Guy” Biden? Maybe I’m just some poor peon who doesn’t understand how the ultra-wealthy are, but “lying during a gun purchase and not paying $1,400,000 in federal taxes” seem like pretty avoidable crimes to me.

          This is such an awful thing for Biden to do. The “both sides” folk are going to have a time with this for the next four years and they’ll be absolutely right in this case.